The halcyon days of American men’s basketball players bulldozing their way to international gold medals are long gone, and last year’s heated Olympic battles with Serbia and France reminded us just how important roster-building has become for Team USA. Compiling a hodgepodge of the 12 best players you can find is no longer an option — the combinations have to make sense from a basketball perspective, which can lead to some excruciating decisions. It’s been one year since Team USA won gold, and three years from now the Americans will attempt to defend their gold medal in Los Angeles.
USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill has the final word for the 2028 roster, but he will certainly receive input from his coaching staff, which will most likely not be led by Steve Kerr, who said after Paris that he would no longer serve as Team USA’s head coach. Whether he’s replaced by one of his assistants (Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra, Los Angeles Clippers’ Tyronn Lue, Gonzaga’s Mark Few) or someone new, they will have their hands full trying to pick the perfect combination of stars who possess both the skill set and mentality to thrive on the international stage.
The 2028 games should be a slightly easier to sell to players given that they take place in L.A. — eliminating the long flights and jetlag typically characteristic of an Olympic sojourn. But there’s also a challenge since mainstays like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry may not even be playing NBA basketball at that point, let alone capable of leading Team USA to gold. James and Curry have all but ruled out a return in 2028, while Durant has left the door slightly ajar. For our purposes, however, let’s assume that all three legends have played in their last Olympics.
If that’s the case, we’ll see a shift toward the next generation in 2028, with Curry’s brilliant 2024 performance serving as the cherry on top of a memorable era of American basketball that has won the last five Olympic gold medals.
With those legends out of the equation, let’s take a look at the…
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